Chapter 548 - 547: Secret Investigation

Chapter 548: Chapter 547: Secret Investigation

’This mission sounds pretty simple,’ Colin thought to himself. But considering the others, he didn’t dare say it out loud.

Just then, Dorn continued, "Oh, right. There’s something I have to confess to you all."

"What is it?" Colin asked, flipping through his Spellbook.

"Actually, I’m a mix of Gray Dwarf and Dwarf," Dorn said, tentatively studying the others’ expressions. "How come none of you seem surprised?"

"You’re sitting here with a Mage who can identify an Aboleth from the faintest clues. Why would you think we’d be surprised?" Colin said.

He didn’t really want to get into a deep conversation with Dorn about what Donkexes and the others thought of him.

These things were too complicated. It was better to let them sort it out themselves. Outsiders saying too much could easily stir up trouble, even with the best intentions of helping the Dwarves.

It was obvious that Dorn’s expression relaxed considerably after Colin finished speaking.

He spoke up, "Since today is just the beginning, I’ll use the Invisibility Technique to sneak in first and check the Guards’ patrol routes. If we want to infiltrate successfully, we’ll need to map out the mansion’s internal Defenses bit by bit to ensure nothing goes wrong."

"I’ve also learned a few new tricks recently that might be helpful. We should be arriving soon, but this Magic of mine requires an hour of Casting time..." Colin opened his Spellbook and took out the materials he had bought on the road.

He first placed a brass brazier on the ground, then recited the Spell for Flaming Arrow to ignite the herbs, charcoal, and other things he had bought. He placed them in the brazier, then slowly began to recite the Spell.

Even while sitting in the slightly bumpy carriage, Colin’s chanting of the Spell was remarkably steady, without the slightest waver.

This was one of the new Tier One Magic spells he had learned: Find Familiar.

Colin had never used this Magic before and had originally planned to perform the summoning in a few days. However, since it was needed now, he began the summoning right away.

This Magic could summon a creature that was telepathically linked to the Caster—a so-called Familiar.

Familiars are essentially Spiritual Bodies from other worlds, coming from places like Celestial Mountain, the Nine Floors of Hell, or the Bottomless Abyss.

These small souls wandering in other worlds have limited Intelligence, so they can be summoned by Mages through a simple contract.

When a Familiar is within thirty-four meters of its master, the master can communicate with it telepathically. They can also transfer their senses to the Familiar and even cast touch-based Magic through it.

All in all, it was a decent piece of Support Magic.

Additionally, some Mages and Evil Mages focus on cultivating their Familiars, which can make them exceptionally powerful. The drawback is that they suffer a backlash when their Familiar dies, so it has its pros and cons.

The carriage came to a stop without him noticing. Colin was still reciting the lengthy Spell.

He silently closed his eyes.

Waves of warmth surged around him. Through his eyelids, Colin could see the colors inside the brass brazier before him shifting—now white, now green, finally settling on black.

At the moment, Colin had no time to worry about that.

The Casting time was a bit too long, which made him somewhat uneasy.

He continuously felt subtle changes around him: a faint whisper would occasionally sound in his mind, a few hairs on his skin would suddenly stand on end, and the firelight before him began to waver.

’Does this mean I’ve found a Spiritual Body willing to make a pact?’

After sensing a flicker of thought in his consciousness, Colin was like someone who had found the end of a thread, and he yanked that thought "out."

WHOOSH!

The Flame in the brazier flared violently.

Colin opened his eyes to see that the materials in the brass brazier had been reduced to grayish-white ash.

With a soft POOF, the ashes burst into a cloud of gray dust. The next moment, the dust began to coalesce and take shape in mid-air, finally becoming an owl perched on the brazier.

The owl’s feathers were entirely gray, and it was very small, standing only about twenty centimeters tall.

"What is that thing? An owl?" Kase asked, his curiosity piqued.

"I suppose so..." Colin said, confused, as he flipped through his Spellbook. "But I was supposed to summon a small spider. Why did it turn into this?"

He searched for a long time but couldn’t figure out why.

So, at a loss, Colin looked at the owl perched on the brass brazier.

He could indeed feel a faint, elusive sense of familiarity with the owl, as if they had lived together for decades.

’Can you hear me? If so, jump down from the brazier,’ Colin asked in his mind.

The owl immediately and obediently hopped down from the brazier to the floor, tilting its head and curiously observing its surroundings.

This reaction proved that the owl was indeed a proper Familiar.

Just then, a few lines of small text suddenly appeared before Colin’s eyes.

[Silent Grey Owl]

[Flying Sweep: Enemies will find it very difficult to attack the Silent Grey Owl]

[Silent: The sound the Silent Grey Owl makes when flying is extremely difficult to perceive]

[Sharp Hearing and Vision: The Silent Grey Owl’s sight and hearing are stronger than a normal creature’s. It can perceive creatures under Invisibility within a thirty-meter radius.]

Generally speaking, summoned Familiars were just normal creatures. Colin frowned; logically, they shouldn’t have the ability to detect creatures under Invisibility.

’So is this little guy some kind of special breed?’

"Mr. Colin, can I pet it?" Orelia asked, leaning closer.

"I have to remind you, we’ve already been delayed for two hours, Orelia," Dorn said from the side.

"Has it been two hours already?" Colin was surprised. Normally, the Casting time for Find Familiar was supposed to be about an hour.

’Just to be safe, I should probably show this little guy to Morel and the others later.’

Colin looked at Orelia and said, "Go ahead and pet it a couple of times. We need to start scouting in a little bit."

"Yay, Mr. Colin." Orelia happily extended her index finger and carefully stroked the feathers on the owl’s head. Judging by how fluffy the feathers were, the little owl was probably thinner than it looked.

After a short while, Dorn turned invisible inside the carriage and then silently departed.

’Can you hear me? From now on, we’ll communicate telepathically.’

’Got it,’ Colin replied in his mind, simultaneously directing the little owl to fly out of the carriage.